A Quart of Oil With Joe2-D2: My Thoughts on The Force Awakens

I’ve seen Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens about one dozen times in the theater, and a couple more times at home. As I’ve viewed the film, there have been little things that stood out to me.

Spoilers ahead!

One thing that has been mentioned before is that the comedic elements are back. The writers didn’t wait long to inject some humor into the movie. You see it when Poe is captured by Kylo Ren. Poe asks who speaks first, and he’s a little confused by Ren’s apparatus covering his face. And speaking of Ren, that is a pretty cool Force power he wields when he’s able to hold a blaster bolt in mid-air! In my opinion, he definitely is more powerful than Vader. (I look forward to the debates that this statement will cause.)

I think Adam Driver was miscast as Han and Leia’s son. He doesn’t look like either one of them. His hair is way too dark. Driver did a pretty good job with the character, although I would like to have seen more of the internal struggle that was going on in him between the light side and dark side of the Force. You only get a brief hint of that when he kills his father. (That surprise was no surprise to me since I had the misfortune to read a Facebook post alerting all of us to that little piece of information. Sadly, before going to see TFA for the first time, I did not follow my own rule to stay off Facebook to avoid spoilers. I definitely will stay away from social media before the releases of Rogue One and Episode VIII.)

Getting back to my thoughts on TFA…. Was I the only person who thought it was Han to whom the opening crawl referred when General Organa’s “most daring pilot” was mentioned? Also, did you catch Leia’s reaction to Han’s death? It shows she had some sensitivity to the Force.

There were some scenes that appeared in trailers that did not make it into the final cut of the film. For me, the biggest disappointment was the way in which Ren’s reveal of the cross-guard lightsaber occurred. I found an interesting article that talks about this subject here. Be sure to check it out. And, who was Lor San Tekka? Was he a former Jedi or a senator? Also, what is the significance of the ship that Rey sees take off from Jakku? It showed up in one of the trailers. I’m aware we’re in for countless theories on who Rey’s parents are. I’m wondering if some of Luke’s reaction to Rey is related to what he knows about her parentage when the two come face to face on Ahch-To. That brings me to another question — which lightsaber is Anakin in possession of when it gets destroyed on the conveyor belt on Geonosis? He and Kenobi each are given one by two Jedi in the Geonosis arena. I’m assuming that is the one that Anakin was using when he fought Dooku and got his arm cut off. How did Maz get Luke’s hand from Bespin after Vader cut it off? In Heir to the Empire series (Legends), the evil clone Joruus C’Baoth recovered the hand and used it to create the evil clone of Luke, but since those stories are no longer part of the official Star Wars canon, we are left to question how Maz acquires the lightsaber.

These are my thoughts on TFA. I finally saw R2-KT on the Resistance base. Another thing I’ve noticed is how some of the humans are able to understand the beeps and whistles of the droids such as R2 and BB-8 — without the use of translating software like Luke’s X-wing had in the original trilogy. (We also see this with Anakin and R2 in the prequel trilogy.) In TFA, Rey, Finn, and Poe understand BB-8 with little time to learn his particular beeps and whistles. How is that possible?

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1 Comment

Melinda

“…he (Kylo Ren) definitely is more powerful than Vader.” — Ah, but Joe, did Rey not spill the beans — that Kylo Ren fears he’ll never be even as powerful as Darth Vader? 😉 True, this is not exactly the same thing as your slant on DV’s grandson. However, Kylo Ren really isn’t as strong as Darth Vader because he is not as ruthless as the Dark Lord of the Sith who stood at Emperor Palpatine’s side all those years. 😉 Kylo Ren is more like a petulant child.

I’m still on the fence about Adam Driver being cast as Kylo Ren. For me, it hasn’t anything to do with the fact that he doesn’t resemble Leia or Han. I’m just not sure I buy into his ability to play the role. I think there are actors out there who are better suited to playing the torn, on-the-brink-of-being-menacing characters (in my opinion). I felt similar about Hayden Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin Skywalker. But we’ll see how Episodes VIII and IX unfold.

“Was I the only person who thought it was Han to whom the opening crawl referred…” No. 🙂 We both got a rude awakening when it became evident — quickly — it was another hotshot pilot. 😉 [It took seven viewings for me to warm up to Poe. 😉 ]

“It shows she had some sensitivity to the Force.” Indeed. Her latent Force sensitivity was hinted at in ROTJ (in the scene with Luke after the Rebels became honorary members of the Ewok tribe).

As for the rest of your wonderings, Joe, I suppose we’ll just have to wait to see how the story unfolds. 😉 That’s part of the magic of Star Wars. At least for me. The anticipation … the musings I allow myself to mull over … the excitement … just make sure you DO follow your rule to stay away from social media once the film is released (if you can’t see it right away). It is sad to say there are some individuals out there who — for whatever reason — have to ruin an experience — especially when it’s something for which so many people have waited — for everyone. I remember coming out of the theater after seeing TFA that first night (and even for weeks after — I was still going to the theater in March to see it, and talked to moviegoers who were seeing the film for the first time!), and NO ONE was talking. Anyone with an ounce of kindness would NOT want to ruin the surprises for anyone waiting to see the movie (and the lobby was teeming with theater-goers waiting for their show times to start)! Do I talk about the film in public now? Yes. There’s only so long I will hold my tongue. 😉